Peterson’s annual St. Patrick’s Day pipes and tobacco are celebrated every year. They are something of a modern pipe smoking tradition. This year, for the 2016 blend, the European-style aromatic returns to more traditionally Irish territory than last year’s blend. This smooth smoke features notes of whisky and citrus, but this isn’t your standard aromatic. Like the other Peterson Annuals, this blend’s flavoring is subtle and smooth--you’ll experience a prominent tin note, but will want to smoke this one slowly to allow the flavors to develop for your palette.

This year Peterson's St. Patrick's Day blend delivers a good dose of Irish cream flavored with orange. So imagine a creamy orange aromatic over nice flue cured tobaccos and you'll have a grasp of this tobacco. There is also another topping and I've noticed websites can't seem to agree on it. I've read whisky, I've read coconut. Big difference in the two! I say coconut as on top of the orange cream as I smell the sweet topping known to the islands. So orange Irish cream and coconut.

The cut is similar to Nutty Cut as its not a straight ribbon. This bacca burns nice into a fine grey ash and stays creamy. The cream is strong at first qtr of bowl but the heart and blend of the tobacco makes it's self known deep into the bowl and the cream takes a back seat while the bacca drives. With the orange Va tobacco and with these toppings the blend will bite slightly or leave a film on your tongue.

I did order the St. Patricks Day pipe this year (lucky enough to get the tankard) and paired this blend with the pipe but have also tried it in other pipes. This is a GREAT corn cob pipe tobacco as well!

I want to wish all my fellow pipers a hearty St. Patricks' Day from North Carolina!

REVIEW UPDATE: 7/19/16 This blend has really settled down and become quite a great blend. It's been a great go-to when I'm not in the mood for fiddling with folding or rubbing of flakes or drying a tobacco. I can just pack this and go and enjoy great tobacco along with a great room note of orange cream. This blend didn't seem to take off like last years but I think this blend is really underrated and is a great blend. I highly recommend it.

My favorite review on this site is the review of Autumn Evening which questions "smokers of campfires and used leather goods" about their uncharitable reviews of aromatics. Well, I am a frequent smoker of campfires but I also enjoy good aromatics. This is certainly one, although I am hesitant to write this inasmuch as it is in limited release and I really don't want any supply to go away. Great tin note. Sweet but not cloying. The flavor lasts throughout the bowl which is great. Moderately strong. I do not get orange flavor as some others do but I do notice the the coconut and liquor notes. Very attractive tobacco with a bit of white burley for extra strength. Really very, very nice.....please don't buy some

The 2016 St Paddy’s Day blend has an edible tin scent. The tobacco is a balanced mixture of Burley and bright Virginia with an ample amount of Cavendish. As aromatics go, it’s somewhat dry and only requires a little bit of dry time. Not surprisingly its sweet, and I taste what little whisky there is more on the exhale than the inhale. Although, there is a little more whiskey flavor toward the end of the bowl which I wished was all the way through the smoke. The coconut is present, but not nearly as much as Larsen’s 2016 Limited Edition. The orange citrus is very present and offers an acidic quality to the blend. Its mild in strength and the room smells lovely. There’s no bite, but it can burn a little hot if pushed. This is only the second 2016 edition aromatic that I have smoked this year and while I liked this blend, I found W.O. Larsen’s to be of higher quality and better flavor. If you like orange and a little bit of Irish Cream, then you won’t be disappointed.

I swear upon the hammer of my forefathers that I am not a fan of aromatics, nor too of any habit of those inscrutible Gaelic ne'er-do-wells. And yet, I find this blend strangely satisfying against my better judgment. Alas, those tricky leprechauns have hypnotized me, and I will savor their offerings until providence shakes me from their spell!

Like SteelCowboy said, the tin note is brilliant: creamy, slightly sharp, and citrusy. Forget smoking it, I want to chew it lol!

Forgetting the note for now, I'll talk about the other points: firstly, the moisture's alright. Okay, it's probably a touch too moist for some folks, but I find it good to go right away. The mixture includes a fair amount of each type of tobacco. Although it's predominately mid-sized ribbons, there are a few large/chunky pieces in the tin as well.

There's a few opinions that differ on what the added flavouring is, but I guess it all comes down to the old 'subjective' aspect of piping. So, this is my opinion:

For me, the main added flavours are the orange and cream; it's a pleasant taste, as the cream neutralizes some of the acidity from the citrus; some of it, not all of it. The whisky's more on the back-burner, it needs heavier puffs and retro-haling to gain recognition; I do think though, it may be overshadowed somewhat by the sharpness of the citrus. Coconut? This eludes me! I honestly can't even get the slightest hint of any nuts.

Some final factors. The burn's great: pretty cool, brilliantly steady, and a medium speed. The room-note's good AND bad: pleasingly sweet, but it creates a bit of a smog. The nicotine's mild to medium, and it doesn't bite.

I can't see many true aromatic fans not enjoying SP 2016, but I can only Recommend it as opposed to Highly Recommending it: it's very good but I could only smoke it on rare occasions.

Coconut isn't the 1st thing that comes to mind when St. Patrick or Ireland is mentioned. But I like coconut so I don't care. The tin note is extremely sweet and wonderful smelling. Straight out of the tobacco is moist and is difficult to light and keep lit. However with a little. Drying time, or letting it sit in an opened tin for a day it's perfect. You get a sweet taste from the cavendish and the coconut topping is predominant through out the smoke. The other flavored not so much but that's ok. A perfect morning smoke.

Personally I smell Baileys Irish liqueur aroma in this tobacco. Tobacco has proper moister content and is ready to be smoked straight from the tin. Cream and alcohol aroma from the tin is strong but very pleasant. Even though, as many of us I started from smoking aromatics, I consider this particular blend as heavy aromatic blend. It ghosted my meerschaum pipe, what I find to be strange (much of chemistry there?). With regard to smoking mechanic it heats pipe during the smoke as many aromatics do. In the middle of the bowl flavour becomes less strong and you may feel tobacco taste, which quality I consider as acceptable. Overall, this tobacco will be a good friend to aromatic lovers and may serve as replacement for standard Christmas tobaccos during holidays for folks who prefer in most cases natural tobacco.